Uncovering Rural Educators' Secret Agency

• In Event: Rural Educators and Rural Education Leaders in Diverse Ruralities

Abstract

School change efforts often center on organizational structures to support educator knowledge of new instructional practices. Rural districts face challenges accessing the resources needed to provide robust structures, but informal relationships among educators are often strong. Using structuration theory as a lens, this paper examines the knowledge-building behaviors of educators in one rural school district as they relate to new instructional practices. A thematic analysis of interviews with a purposive sample of district educators reveals that educator agency was critical for establishing the informal knowledge-building structures upon which building educators relied. These findings suggest that rural districts would benefit from enhancing and supporting educator agency during change implementation.

Author

• Jennifer Karnopp, San Diego State University